This year's countdown will be done just a little bit differently. I'm still ranking them but I'm also stealing the title format of one this year's entries.
So starting with the 14th best film of the year...
De Dana Dan:
Hilarious Chaos of the Year
(Priyadarshan; Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Archana Puran Singh, Katrina Kaif, Neha Dhupia, Jhony Lever, Sameera Reddy)
As crazy comedies go, this one is by far the craziest. With about 30 characters all in one hotel and all somehow connected to each other, Priyadarshan's head-scratcher was borderline too confusing. But it's a laugh riot, fueled by strong comic performances and a likable lead couple - Akshay and Katrina, naturally.
Highlight of the Film: Jhony Lever as a fumbling hit man
Coolest Song: Paisa
Why Not to Watch: It is the exact opposite of a no-brainer; you have do a lot of thinking to keep up
Tum Mile:
Disaster Movie of the Year
(Kunal Deshmukh; Emraan Hashmi, Soha Ali Khan)
As we all know, Hollywood's 2012 was a real life disaster and what's hilarious is that this movie (about the floods in Bombay in 2005) came out the same day. Tum Mile is infinitely better. With a strong story and a strong cast, the film used the floods as a metaphor for the leads' tumultuous relationship. Even though the disaster sequences weren't exactly too suspenseful, they were still pretty entertaining.
Highlight of the Film: Soha Ali Khan
Coolest Song: Dil Ibaadat
Why Not to Watch: Hydrophobia?
Paa:
Performance of the Year
(R. Balki; Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Abhishek Bachchan, Arundhati Nag, Paresh Rawal)
As with 2008's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, this film required its lead actor to go through hours of makeup and play an age so far from his own. Bachchan Sr.'s work in this film (as Auro, the 13 year old with a genetic disorder that speeds up his aging) is remarkable, finally showing his range after a series of similar roles (besides KANK's Sexy Sam). Vidya Balan reminds us again why she is one of the best in her leauge while everyone else is excellent also. The film itself leaves a lot to be desired which is unfortunate because the concept shouted OSCAR.
Highlight of the Film: Vidya's and Ms. Nag's scenes with Auro
Coolest Song: Udhi Udhi Ittefaq Se / Mudhi Mudhi Ittefaq Se
Why Not to Watch: Too many subplots
Kaminey:
Underrated Performance of the Year
(Vishal Bharadwaj; Shahid Kapoorx2, Priyanka Chopra, Amol Gupte, Deb Mukherjee)
As someone who recently discovered how overrated Shahid Kapoor is, I am most definitely calling Priyanka Chopra's work in this thrilling and intelligent film underrated. Because Shahid is playing a double role (one of which is
also his first villain), everyone's raving about it. Fine, he deserves it. But Priyanka Chopra is the one who blew me away with a totally non-glamourous role in a completely different dialect. As Sweety, Chopra is shrewish and a little insane, but she's also devoted and sasha-fierce.
Hightlight of the Film: Priyanka's hilariously whiny "Guddu, pleeeaaase!" early in the movie.
Coolest Song: Raat Ke Dhaai Baje remix / Fatak
Why Not to Watch: It's a little confusing.
The Top 10 of 2009
Kurbaan:
Slickest Thriller / Surprise Flop of the Year
(Rensil D'Silva; Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Saif Ali Khan, Om Puri, Kirron Kher)
As a thriller, Kurbaan succeeds immensely. It is surprising, thrilling, shocking and brilliantly shot. Why it was a box office failure is beyond me. This is definitely a highlight in Kareena's beautiful career as she is heartbreaking as Avantika. Vivek Oberoi tries really hard to become a good actor again and he scores somewhat but not totally. Kher and Puri are good as always. Saif Ali Khan is the film's weakest link surprisingly but I think it's the poorly written character.
Highlight of the Film: The intense subway climax that wasn't shot in the NYC subways.
Coolest Song: The whole soundtrack is strong
Why Not to Watch: It's a little mirthless after the first 35 minutes
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani:
Happiest Film of the Year
(Rajkumar Santoshi; Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Smita Jaykar, Darshan Jariwala)
As Prem, Ranbir Kapoor gives a truly outstanding performance. He's funny, charming, romantic and just truly perfect. Katrina Kaif turns in a hilarious and insightful acting job as Jenny. It's hard to write off this film considering it's just oozing happiness and warmth. Supporting cast is quirky and delightful. Soundtrack, costumes, sets, dialogues--everything is just so wonderful.
Highlight of the Film: Sandra's wedding
Coolest Song: Prem Ki Naiyya
Why Not to Watch: Upen Patel
Delhi 6:
Metaphor of the Year
(Rakesh Omprakash Mehra; Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rehmaan, Om Puri, Divya Dutta)
As everyone knows, sometimes the bigger the flop, the better the movie. This movie flopped because no one understood how each character wasn't actually a character but a metaphor for a different aspect of Delhi. And the most
important metaphor of all is the Kaala Bandhar which represented all
of our inner hate. Mehra took a big risk with the Kaala Bandhar but I think
he pulled it off. Delhi 6 is well-acted, frequently hilarious and surprisingly accurate portrayal of life--and not just in Delhi.
Highlight of the Film: the video for 'Dil Gira Dafatan'
Coolest Song: Genda Phool
Why Not to Watch: It's too deep to be your average Sunday afternoon flick
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year:
Indie Flick of the Year
(Shimit Amin; Ranbir Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Gauhar Khan, D Santosh, Shazahn Padmasee, Manish Chaudhary)
As the film comes to a close, you realize that you just witnessed something truly special. A Bollywood film that is entirely focused on its subject with no extra fat. It's sharp, concise, funny, surprising and wholly original. You truly root for the main characters to succeed and the highs and lows of their lives really affect you. Ranbir Kapoor makes a wonderful Sardarji and his supporting players are just as good. The background score is fabulously snazzy and the costumes are quietly stylish. A must-see.
Highlight of the Film: Gauhar Khan as the ambitious secretary Koena.
Coolest Song: The background score is better than the actual songs.
Why Not to Watch: It's not a "masala film".
Love Aaj Kal:
Romantic-Comedy of the Year
(Imtiaz Ali; Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna, Giselle Monteiro)
As Jai and Meera stumble through their complicated love story, it is impossible not to fall in love with Ali's stellar screenplay. He gives us two witty, narcissisticpeople who are unique to Bollywood's many romantic pairs. Saif Ali Khan rocks the house in the film while Deepika shines a little less bright. Supporting cast is all right but Monteiro is truly awful.
Highlight of the Film: Jai's speech at Meera's wedding
Coolest Song: Chor Bazaari
Why Not to Watch: Giselle Monteiro
The Top 5 of 2009
Luck By Chance:
Satire of the Year
(Zoya Akhtar; Farhan Akhtar, Konkona Sensharma, Isha Sharvani, Rishi
Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Hrithik Roshan, Juhi Chawla)
As Bollywood never really does satires, LBC seems a little strange at first. Are they playing it straight? Do they not see how ridiculous everything is? LBC, however, is a clever look at film production, rising to stardom and the troubles of Bollywood politics. While sometimes the film does take itself seriously, most of the time it is a hilarious satire of everything we love about the BW. The switches in tone is handled expertly by both the young (Konkona, Isha, Farhan) and the veteran actors.
Highlight of the Film: A montage of talking magazine headlines
Coolest Song: All the songs
Why Not to Watch: The inside jokes can be a little too "inside"
New York:
Terrorist Drama of the Year
(Kabir Khan; John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Katrina Kaif, Irrfan)
As with Kurbaan, NY deals with terrorism from both sides. The big difference: NY was one of the biggest hits of the year. And I think it is because the film isn't as lacking in happiness as Kurbaan is. Simply put, the film makes you think but it does not make you regret living. The ending is hopeful, the characters are relatable and the pace is rapid. Performances are strong all around, especially John Abraham. NNM rocks it as well as Irrfan. What makes this film even more special is that it is Katrina's breakout role, a role that will change her career forever.
Highlight of the Film: Sam's flashbacks to his time in prison
Coolest Song: Mere Sang remix
Why Not to Watch: You don't like terrorism movies
3 Idiots:
Geniuses of the Year
(Rajkumar Hirani; Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Kareena Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Omi, Boman Irani)
As Kareena and Aamir have never been paired together before, I was excited to see, in its entirety, the on-fire chemistry they showed in the 'Zoobi Doobi' promo. The film itself is funny, heart-warming, sad, relevant and intensely smart. Aamir Khan is known as the Perfectionist and this film is near perfect.Every character is performed by a talented individual and every scene strikes a chord.
Highlight of the Film: Chatur's speech.
Coolest Song: Zoobi Doobi
Why Not to Watch: It's message-heavy (but that's not too inexcusable)
Dev D:
Trippy Adaptation of the Year
(Anurag Kashyap; Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill, Kalki)
As far as Devdas adaptations go, this is not your mother's Devdas. Dev D is trippy, edgy, seductive, abnormal and simply marvelous. Kashyap's musical takes the original plot and characters and plays with them to fit modern times. Worry not, the original themes are still intact. The film's visual style, performances and music are all note-worthy. Mahie Gill especially makes a strong, thunderous debut as Paro while Kalki is hilarious as Chanda. Abhay Deol reminds us why he's the king of "against-the-grain" cinema.
Highlight of the Film: Chanda speaking to her clients in French, Tamil and English
Coolest Song: Paayaliya, Ek Hulchul Si, Hiknaal
Why Not to Watch: Too edgy?
And finally... the number one film of the year...
Wake Up Sid!:
Best Film of the Year
(Ayan Mukherji; Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sensharma, Supriya Pathak, Anupam Kher, Rahul Khanna)
As Siddarth Mehra, Ranbir Kapoor displays a blend of confusion and cockiness that is hard to pull off. His journey into maturity and adulthood is inevitable, of course, but not since Curtis Hanson's In Her Shoes (Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette) have we seen a redemption film so satisfying and reassuring. This does not take away from the film at all but it enhances the experience. Konkona Sensharma as Aisha Banerjee puts it yet another unbelievably strong performance as does everyone in the cast especially Ms. Pathak. Wake Up Sid! is a film for the ages and one you can watch over and over again.
Highlight of the Film: Shikha Talsania as Sid's friend Laxmi
Coolest Song: Iktara
Why Not to Watch: There isn't one. Seriously.
And here some is some more fun stuff for you.
Diamonds in the Rough (good performances in bad movies)
*Priyanka Chopra in What's Your Raashee?
*Salman Khan in Wanted
*Kareena Kapoor in Main aur Mrs. Khanna
*Rani Mukherji in Dil Bole Hadippa
Worst film of the year: Chandni Chowk to China
Best song of the year: Zoobi Doobi (3 Idiots)
Nightingale of the year: Shreya Goshal (again!)
Hit Jodi:
Katrina Kaif & Ranbir Kapoor
Saif Ali Khan & Deepika Padukone
Kareena Kapoor & Aamir Khan
Any way, I hope you enjoyed this list and I urge you to see any of them.
Happy new year!
